Ahead of World No Tobacco Day May 31, the American Thoracic Society and our Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) partners reiterate the need for countries to urgently implement decisions made at the 11th Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
In particular, among the decisions adopted at COP11 was the encouragement for countries to consider comprehensive regulatory options for tobacco and nicotine product components that increase environmental harms.
In a statement published following COP11, founding FIRS member the European Respiratory Society (ERS) underlined the importance of environmental protection in the context of advancing global tobacco control policies. ERS reiterated that cigarette filters, in particular, degrade the environment through waste, pollution, and emissions.
Filters are among the world's most littered plastic waste, and accumulate in the environment over time due to their slow degradation. As they fragment, they also cause microplastic contamination of soil and water.
They can be ingested by marine life and leach toxic substances such as nicotine into their surrounding environments. Moreover, there is no evidence that these items can be safely recycled.
